{"id":200133,"date":"2026-02-12T12:48:04","date_gmt":"2026-02-12T12:48:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/nancy-guthrie-investigation-what-we-know-about-the-search-nbc-news\/"},"modified":"2026-02-12T12:48:04","modified_gmt":"2026-02-12T12:48:04","slug":"nancy-guthrie-investigation-what-we-know-about-the-search-nbc-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/nancy-guthrie-investigation-what-we-know-about-the-search-nbc-news\/","title":{"rendered":"Nancy Guthrie investigation: What we know about the search – NBC News"},"content":{"rendered":"

Morning Rundown: House passes sweeping election bill, Epstein survivors decry Pam Bondi’s ‘lack of empathy,’ and U.S. ski star gets engaged<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n

news Alerts
There are no new alerts at this time
The desperate search for the mother of NBC\u2019s \u201cTODAY\u201d show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie stretched into its second week with mounting questions about what happened to Nancy Guthrie and concerns for her physical health.
Guthrie, 84, was reported missing on Feb. 1 from her home in the Catalina Foothills, an unincorporated Arizona community north of Tucson.
Authorities have described the case as a possible kidnapping or abduction, and there have been reports of ransom notes.
Follow live coverage here. <\/strong><\/em><\/a>
The FBI released photos and video of a potential subject wearing a ski mask. Officials have not released an identity.
The Pima County Sheriff\u2019s Department searched a property in Rio Rico, a community 60 miles south of Tucson, on Tuesday night and took a man into custody.
But that man, who identified himself as delivery driver Carlos Palazuelos, told reporters early Wednesday that after being questioned, he was released without being arrested. Authorities confirmed that a man was detained and released as a follow-up on incoming leads. He has not been charged.
Palazuelos said he might have delivered something to Guthrie\u2019s home at some point, but didn\u2019t recall doing so. He said he was stopped while driving and was detained and questioned because officers thought his eyes matched those seen in the doorcam footage released by the FBI.
Guthrie was last known to have visited family Jan. 31 and returned home that evening. She was reported missing about noon Feb. 1 after not showing up at a friend\u2019s house that morning to watch a virtual church service.
Pima County Sheriff Chris Nanos has laid out a timeline of events (all times are in Mountain Time):
The Pima County Sheriff\u2019s Department believes Guthrie was taken \u201cpossibly in the middle of the night, and that includes possible kidnapping or abduction.\u201d
The sheriff said Thursday that blood found on the porch outside Guthrie\u2019s house tested positive for her DNA. He said his office would not comment on whether there was forced entry to the home.
Her cellphone was left at home and is in the possession of authorities.
No suspect or person of interest has been identified. Nanos said that nobody has been ruled out. \u201cWe\u2019re actively looking at everybody we come across, in this case, everybody,\u201d he said.
NBC News video from Friday night shows a car being towed from Nancy Guthrie\u2019s residence as the FBI processed the home as a crime scene, and photo and video records indicate the vehicle had previously been seen in her garage and is believed to belong to her.
On Tuesday, FBI Director Kash Patel released surveillance photos and videos of a potential armed subject<\/a>.
Patel shared six black-and-white photos<\/a> as well as three video clips of the potential subject, who is wearing a black jacket and light pants, a ski mask, vinyl gloves and carrying a full, light-colored backpack.
The person approaches the home in one video<\/a>, and then appears to attempt to conceal their identity while tampering with the doorbell camera, which was later disconnected. The person\u2019s eyes are visible through the holes in the ski mask.
One video shows a gun in a holster on the front of the person\u2019s body.
Patel said law enforcement had \u201cuncovered these previously inaccessible new images\u201d as of Tuesday morning. The video was \u201crecovered from residual data located in backend systems.\u201d
Nanos has said Guthrie does not have cognitive issues, characterizing her as \u201csharp as a tack.\u201d However, he said, she has limited mobility and needs to take medication daily or \u201cit could be fatal.\u201d Nanos said he does not know whether Guthrie\u2019s medication was still at her home.
\u201cShe is mobile. It\u2019s a challenge for her to get, as the family says, she couldn\u2019t walk 50 yards by herself,\u201d he said.
She has a pacemaker \u2014 a device typically implanted under the skin to regulate heartbeat \u2014 which disconnected from its monitoring app on her phone early on Feb. 1.
In an emotional video <\/a>posted to her Instagram page on Wednesday, Savannah Guthrie pleaded for her mother\u2019s return, noting her health is fragile.
\u201cShe lives in constant pain. She is without any medicine. She needs it to survive, and she needs it not to suffer,\u201d Savannah Guthrie said in the video, flanked by her sister, Annie, and brother, Camron.
Last week, possible ransom notes referencing Guthrie were reportedly sent to three news outlets.
NBC News reviewed a copy of the first note, and its contents were consistent with the descriptions provided by the FBI and those news outlets. No law enforcement agency has so far substantiated the notes.
Heith Janke, the special agent in charge of the FBI\u2019s Phoenix division, said Thursday that one reported ransom note \u201chad facts associated with a deadline with a monetary value they were asking for,\u201d noting that \u201cone talked about an Apple Watch, one talked about a floodlight,\u201d but declining to go into further specifics.
The ransom note had two deadlines \u2014 one at 5 p.m. Thursday and a second deadline for Monday, Janke said, adding that the note did not establish a means for communication. Both deadlines have since passed with no new information.
Camron Guthrie on Thursday appeared in a video message around the same time as that 5 p.m. deadline, asking for a way to communicate with whoever could be holding his mother.
\u201cWhoever is out there holding our mother, we want to hear from you. We haven\u2019t heard anything directly,\u201d he said in a video posted to Instagram<\/a>. \u201cWe need you to reach out and we need a way to communicate with you so we move forward.\u201d
Janke said the FBI takes the ransom threats seriously.
He also warned that impostors who send fake ransom letters will be \u201cheld accountable.\u201d A man arrested in Los Angeles on Thursday was accused of sending texts to the Guthrie family asking about bitcoin that was demanded in a reported ransom letter, according to a federal criminal complaint out of Arizona. <\/a>The messages are not linked to an earlier reported ransom demand.
The FBI and Nanos\u2019 office announced Friday afternoon they were \u201caware of a new message regarding\u201d Guthrie. \u201cInvestigators are actively inspecting the information provided in the message for its authenticity,\u201d the sheriff\u2019s department said in a statement.
NBC News has not reviewed a copy of that second note, sent to local TV station KOLD.
Jessica Bobula, the news director of KOLD, said neither provided proof of life, but that the first note said Guthrie was fine.
The second note \u201cwas certainly not a ransom demand,\u201d Bobula said, noting it did not ask for money, and it differed \u201cin almost every way\u201d from the first. One of the notes did not provide an image of Guthrie but \u201ca description,\u201d she said.
Bobula said the author of the second note appeared to be trying to prove that they were the same sender as the first note.
Asked if the note indicated what might happen if the Monday deadline is missed she said, \u201cThey did.\u201d When asked if the note indicated Guthrie could be harmed in some way, Bobula said, \u201cYes.\u201d
On Monday evening, the FBI said that it was \u201cnot aware of any continued communication between the Guthrie family and suspected kidnappers.\u201d
Savannah Guthrie addressed her mother\u2019s possible kidnapper in a new video<\/a> posted to Instagram on Saturday. The video was the third from the family since Nancy Guthrie\u2019s disappearance.
\u201cWe received your message and we understand,\u201d she said. \u201cWe beg you now to return our mother to us so that we can celebrate with her. This is the only way we will have peace.\u201d
\u201cThis is very valuable to us, and we will pay,\u201d Savannah Guthrie said in closing, holding her siblings\u2019 hands.
She did not provide specifics about the message she referenced, but three officials briefed on the investigation said the Saturday video was in reference to the second note that was sent Friday.
In another video posted to Instagram on Monday<\/a>, Savannah Guthrie thanked the public for praying for her mother\u2019s safe return and said the family believes she is \u201cstill out there.\u201d
\u201cWe believe that somehow, some way, she is feeling these prayers and that God is lifting her even in this moment and in this darkest place,\u201d the \u201cTODAY\u201d co-anchor said. \u201cWe believe our mom is still out there.\u201d
She asked viewers to report anything \u201cstrange\u201d to law enforcement. \u201cWe are at an hour of desperation, and we need your help,\u201d she said.
After the FBI posted photos of the potential subject on Tuesday, Savannah Guthrie again took to Instagram, resharing the images and videos and pleading for help in finding her mother.
\u201cWe believe she is still alive. Bring her home,\u201d she wrote in the first of two posts<\/a>.
In the second<\/a>, Savannah Guthrie wrote, \u201cSomeone out there recognizes this person. We believe she is still out there. Bring her home.\u201d
Law enforcement officials were searching for a vehicle in Arizona that may be connected to the investigation, NBC News learned on Friday. Officials haven\u2019t said if the vehicle or vehicles are definitively connected to any part of the crime, or if that lead has since evaporated.
A Circle K spokesperson told NBC News that law enforcement visited one of its convenience stores on Oracle Road in Tucson after \u201creceiving a tip regarding a vehicle of interest, and our team has provided them access to the store\u2019s surveillance video.\u201d
The sheriff\u2019s office said Saturday that authorities have not identified any vehicles connected to the case.
Authorities have declined to provide specifics about a range of questions at the center of the investigation. Here are some of the details that are unknown or have not been publicly released.
State and federal resources have been deployed in the search for Guthrie.
Marlene Lenthang is a breaking news reporter for NBC News Digital.
Daniel Arkin is a senior reporter at NBC News.
Tom Winter is NBC\u2019s National Law Enforcement and Intelligence Correspondent.
Chloe Atkins reports for the NBC News National Security and Law Unit, based in New York.
Liz Kreutz is an NBC News correspondent.
© 2026 NBCUniversal Media, LLC<\/p>\n

source<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Morning Rundown: House passes sweeping election bill, Epstein survivors decry Pam Bondi’s ‘lack of empathy,’ and U.S. ski star gets engaged news AlertsThere are no new alerts at this timeThe desperate search for the mother of NBC\u2019s \u201cTODAY\u201d show co-anchor Savannah Guthrie stretched into its second week with mounting questions about what happened to Nancy […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":200134,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-200133","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-us","8":"entry"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200133","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=200133"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/200133\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/200134"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=200133"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=200133"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/quixnet.net\/wpinstance\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=200133"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}